Dharmavidya writes, of a decision we made during the Amida Ordained Conclave:
The term gansha means 'person of the vow'. "Gan" means a vow or prayer or deep aspiration as in the key phrase from Tan Butsu Ge "Gan ga sa butsu" = "my prayer [is that I] become buddha". "Sha" means person. So the term gansha has a double meaning. On the one side it means a person who lives in the light of Amida's vow - and the vows of all buddhas of all times. On the other side it means someone who longs to become buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. When we operate from an other-power perspective we know that we do not have the power ourselves to make ourselves into buddhas, but we know that if we long for it the buddhas who do have such power will hear and shed their light upon us. Thus through our prayer or longing, our lives will become instruments of liberation for many beings even though to ourselves the process will remain mysterious. Buddhism has always placed great store upon a person's gan. According to the gan, so the future. It matters what we dedicate ourselves to, however good at fulfilling that dedication we may be because this is what will work upon the karmic stream.
